Childhood Obesity Prevention

Obesity has already acquired the role of an epidemic. The cases of childhood obesity have been continuously increasing throughout the world. There have been many articles in newspapers and documentaries on television asking the parents to get up and prevent their children from falling prey to obesity. There are easy ways that parents can become the first line of defense for their children and truly be instrumental in reducing the risk for childhood obesity within their child.

• Have the child evaluated regularly by the family physician or the pediatrician. A health and wellness checkup is important for every child, because it can help to evaluate medical problems while assessing risk factors for potential and future medical problems.
• Encourage healthy eating by removing high fat and sugary snacks, and replacing them with healthier choices like fresh fruits and vegetables. Numerous healthy low fat snacks are also available in the market.
• Take a stand against sedentary activity. Motivate and encourage your child for more physical activities rather than just sitting at one place and getting glued to television, computer or video games. Always remember that the child who abstains from physical activities is more prone to obesity.
• Communicate acceptance to the child in case he/she is already obese. An obese child knows they have a weight problem, and they do not need to have the parental ridicule to deal with on top of the peer ridicule they probably receive daily. Parents should love their child unconditionally and accept them for who they are. They should form a partnership to help their child reduce the risk of obesity and combat weight problems.
• Always remember to be a positive role model for your child because children learn from the example set by their parents. So, practice what you preach.

Dental Health Care for Children

Dental or oral health care of children starts from the day when baby is born. Few simple steps which can contribute to healthy teeth are:

1. Always wipe off gums after feeding the baby.
2. Try to avoid bottle feeding as far s possible.
3. Never allow baby to sleep with milk bottle in his mouth.
4. Once your child starts going to play school, teach him how to brush. Brushing regularly with fluoride toothpaste avoid caries.
5. Teach him good oral habits. For example, rinsing after every meal and brushing twice a day.
6. Avoid thumb sucking habit. Teeth start protruding outside if this continues for a long time.
7. Avoid sweets and sugary snacks in between the meal, this can lead to cavities.
8. Young children tend to swallow toothpaste, so take proper care and do not allow them to swallow as toothpaste contains fluoride.
9. Regular dental checkups are useful to have a proper record of baby’s teeth.
10. During teething always take care of dental hygiene. Tethers or gum soothers used should be properly washed and clean.

Head Lice in Children

Head lice infestation is very common especially among school going children. Head lice are parasites that live by the host’s blood in the hair and head scalp and which can develop in large numbers. That is most horrifying thing about hair lice, it just few lice to make a large population.

Head lice are pretty unpleasant and most people have suffered an infestation at some point or another. Children are more likely to get them, due to contact through play and being around lots of other kids at school or at the playground. Despite being gross and a bit of nuisance, they are very common, pretty harmless.

It is mostly assumed that head lice spread from one head to another by close contact only. However, they can also spread through the sharing of items, such as a hair brush, pillow, soft toy or hat. It should be also noted that killing the lice will not solve the problem. This is because lice eggs hatch after about 7-10 days. If they are not removed the person will be re-infested.

Personal hygiene has nothing to do with the lice infestation. Symptoms of lice infestation include:

• Tickling feeling in the hair
• Frequent itching
• Sores from scratching

There are many treatments which are available now for this kind of threat. The best and safest way to start the treatment of lice in the child is through all kinds of natural remedies, like use of various essential oils, mayonnaise, vinegar, herbs and many more. Lice combs are also available which are specially made for killing lice.

Medical treatments in the form of anti-lice hair shampoos are also available in the market. Before using shampoos consult a dermatologist or a good doctor to make sure that product is safe for the child or the infested person.
In case of lice infested, it is very important to act fast and not to delay.

How to Help a Choking Child?

Children, particularly those between the ages of 1 and 5, often put objects in their mouth. This is a normal part of how they explore the world. Some small objects, like marbles and beads, are just the right size to get stuck in a child’s airway and cause choking. The best way to avoid this is to make sure those small objects like marbles and beads are kept out of your child’s reach.
A child that is choking is extremely frightful. This is due to the fact that a child's airway is smaller than an adult’s, making it easier for food or any other thing from lodging in the airway preventing air in or out.

It is a common believe that when a child is choking, he/she should be hit on the back. However, the American Heart Association does not approve this. Evidences have shown that hitting someone on the back that is choking causes the food or the object to go further down the trachea making it harder to resolve the situation.

Some common indications that something is blocking the child's throat include coughing a lot, inability to speak, cry, or breath, face turning bluish, or in the worst case, the child passes out.

The following precautions are recommended to help a choking child:

• Stand behind the child. Wrap your arms around the child's waist.
• Make a fist with one hand, thumb side in. Place your fist just below the chest and slightly above the navel.
• Grab your fist with the other hand.
• Press into the abdomen with a quick upward push. This helps to make the object or food come out of the child's mouth.
• Repeat this inward and upward thrust until the piece of food or object comes out.
• Once the object comes out, take your child to the doctor. A piece of the object can still be in the lung. Only a doctor can tell you if your child is OK.

Avoid foods like apples, hot dogs, chips, hard candy, etc., that can become easily lodged in the throat/trachea for the child. Also, do not let the child run around with these types of foods in their mouths. Children get so occupied with playing that sometimes they are not paying attention to the food in their mouth. Eventually this often leads to a choking child. However, providing the child the first and timely medical support can save his life.